Giorgia Meloni’s government wants to continue supporting Kyiv militarily. But now it’s stuck. And the pressure is growing.
Government partners: Giorgia Meloni with Matteo Salvini (centre) and Silvio Berlusconi after a meeting with President Mattarella in the Quirinal Palace.
They particularly liked seeing the picture in Italy: Mario Draghi, the former head of government, sitting on the special train to Kyiv, together with Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron. The message: We are finally back where we belong, namely among the leading European nations. That was half a year ago.
On an equal footing with Paris and Berlin: Former Prime Minister Mario Draghi on June 16, 2022 on a special train to Kyiv.
In fact, Mario Draghi had made an important contribution in building the European front against Vladimir Putin. At a time when his coalition partners Matteo Salvini of the Lega and Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia were still boasting about their particularly good relations with the Kremlin warlord, Draghi had firmly anchored his country in the US-EU alliance against Russia. From then on, Rome acted on an equal footing with Paris and Berlin when it came to Ukraine, to the satisfaction of the USA.
Draghi followed his words with deeds: First with the delivery of old war material from the stocks from the Cold War era, then with more modern equipment, Panzerhaubitzen 2000 and multiple rocket launchers equipped with GPS.
Paris and Berlin go ahead
Now the train to Kyiv has come to a standstill. Giorgia Meloni also sided with Ukraine early on and unequivocally. But the government decree required for further arms deliveries is a long time coming. Originally scheduled for December, it will now announced for February. That puts Italy behind after France, Germany, the United States and Britain recently announced they would supply armored fighting vehicles.
It is reasonable to assume that Salvini and Berlusconi will again oppose each other in the new right-wing government. “I categorically rule that out,” said Stefania Craxi, chairwoman of the Senate Foreign Policy Committee, on Tuesday in the «Repubblica». Craxi is a member of Berlusconi’s party. So it doesn’t seem to be a matter of political will.
Rather, defence, technical and financial reasons for the delays brought into the field. The focus is on the modern French anti-aircraft system Samp/T, of which the Italian army has five operational batteries and a training unit, according to newspaper reports. It is particularly suitable for defending against attacks with tactical missiles and cruise missiles as well as combat aircraft and drones – attacks to which Ukraine is currently particularly exposed. Italy’s Samp/T would therefore be particularly welcome there.
Concerned about his own protection
Because Italy already has two of these systems in use abroad and two are currently out of service due to regular maintenance work, Italy’s generals are concerned about their own preparedness to defend themselves. The USA, which Rome in Ukraine put under pressure, argue that NATO would not leave Italian airspace unprotected if these systems were delivered to Ukraine.
Another question is the high cost. The systems are expensive. The value of the delivery planned for Ukraine is estimated at 250 million euros. In addition, some components – and ammunition – would apparently still have to be ordered in France. A few weeks ago, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto asked the EU for financial aid for those countries that support Ukraine.
Giorgia Meloni will still have to overcome some resistance before the decree is in place. She has announced that she intends to travel to Kyiv before the anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24. If she doesn’t want to stand there empty-handed, she has to move forward now.